Lockport high school senior organizes student voter registration drive

Lockport — As Lockport Township High School District 205 faces a primary election that will determine whether it can move ahead with major Central Campus renovation plans, students at East Campus will be given the opportunity to register to vote in that very election.

Thanks to the initiative of senior and school board student member Chelsea Osei, East Campus will hold a voter registration day for students Tuesday during Compass and lunch periods.

District 205 has a proposed $85 million building bond initiative on the March 19 primary ballot. The funds would be used to cover repairs and renovations to its Central freshman campus, which has been closed for in-person learning since Nov. 2 after the ceiling collapsed in a classroom.

Representatives from the Will County Clerk’s Office will give a presentation to interested students during Compass and will be present in the cafeteria Tuesday during all lunch periods for juniors and seniors who are 18 or who are 17 but will turn 18 before the Nov. 5 election.

To register, students will need to show their school ID as well as one other form of identification that shows their address, such as a driver’s license or a piece of mail.

Students who register at school will be eligible to vote starting with the March 19 primary. They will not have to attend the Compass presentation in order to register.

“Chelsea gets all the credit for this, and we appreciate her bringing this opportunity to our students,” East Campus Principal John Greenan said. “She cares deeply about democracy, and it was her idea to bring more awareness to our student body by really leading this initiative.”

Osei is part of a growing number of young Americans who have taken a strong interest in voting and elections in recent years, and youth turnout could be pivotal in this year’s elections.

According to a poll conducted by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement in November, one year out from the general election, 72% of young adults said they are “fairly likely” or “extremely likely” to vote in 2024.

“With my prior experience in civics, especially as a board of education member, I saw the impact of civic engagement and voting,” Osei said in an email statement. “Voting is essentially one of the easiest ways to voice your concerns and participate in the democracy we uphold.

“I think it is pivotal that we have a high voting rate within youth not only on a national level but especially on a local level. We hold such a unique perspective on societal and political issues, and it deserves to be reflected. My goal with this drive is to empower and ease newly registered voters through this process, thus increasing civic education altogether.”

In addition to being a student member on the board, Osei participates in the Will County Student Ambassador program, which provided her with the connections needed to kick-start the voter registration drive.

She also recently was accepted into the U.S. Senate Youth Program, which selects two “high achieving student leaders” from each state annually to travel to Washington, D.C., for a week as student Senate delegates.

Each student also receives a $10,000 college scholarship for participating in the program. The Crest Hill native will head to D.C. to meet with Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth in March.

“Chelsea is just a fantastic student and person to have representing us,” Greenan said. “It’s quite an accomplishment, and she has a bright future ahead of her.”

Osei was supported in her efforts to register Lockport high school students to vote by Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Lorie Cristofaro and social studies department chair Margot Singletary-Timm, who hope to continue the program in the future.

“We haven’t set an exact goal of how many students we hope to register, but we have been promoting it and making regular announcements about the event,” Greenan said. “We’ll see what our numbers are Tuesday and use that as a base to shoot for another goal next year.”

Depending on the numbers and who may want to get involved, Greenan said it may be possible to try hosting a second event next year before the general election, or it could be left until primary season once again.

“This could be an opportunity for other students or clubs to show their involvement, possibly the Future Educators of America or students with an interest in social studies,” Greenan said. “We’ll have to see.

“Anytime we have students show leadership about things they’re passionate about, it opens us to possibilities in the future for other students to grow it.”

The Tuesday event at Lockport East is scheduled to coincide with “Help America Vote Day,” a national initiative to bring awareness to citizens about the importance and process of voting.